The reshuffling that happens at this time of the season in the minors had an effect throughout the system as several teams struggled. Rehabbing players Josh Conway and Danny Lockhart had excellent performances for Boise. Kane County lost three straight despite good pitching from Duane Underwood, Daury Torrez, and Jen-Ho Tseng.
Daytona had a six-game winning streak that included a walk-off homer from Kyle Schwarber and Jacob Hannemann’s first Florida State League home run. Tennessee scuffled a … [Read more...]

Heroes came in all shapes and sizes to end the week as Iowa witnessed the thundering bat of Javier Baez, while Tennessee’s Addison Russell put on his own power show. Russell’s teammate Taylor Davis had a five RBI night, and Daytona remained on a roll thanks to the muscle of Dan Vogelbach. In Kane County, Shawon Dunston Jr. appears to be thriving in the leadoff role, while new faces Charcer Burks and Bryant Flete are hot for Boise.
So if you like your baseball with a little pop, see what’s … [Read more...]

It was “Promotion Day” Wednesday as several prospects received word that they would be moving up a level. There was some activity leading up to the day, as RHP Juan Carlos Paniagua was promoted to Daytona, while RHP Ben Wells went to Kane County and RHP Dillon Maples reported to Boise. That set in motion “outfielder roulette” as Jorge Soler moved up to Iowa, Albert Almora to Tennessee, Jacob Hannemann to Daytona, and Jeffrey Baez to Kane County. Meanwhile, RHP Kyle Hendricks and LHP Tsuyoshi … [Read more...]

It was an abbreviated start to the week as many of the minor league teams were enjoying some time off during the All-Star break. The teams that were in play seemed to take it on the chin as Tennessee dropped a pair despite four RBI from Jae-Hoon Ha. Daytona had a 13-inning game on Monday with Albert Almora hitting for the cycle. Boise’s Mark Zagunis had his own cycle as the Hawks inched closer to first place. Meanwhile, Kane County had a rarity in losing two in a row as the Cougars said goodbye … [Read more...]

Top of the heap is the best way to describe the Cubs’ farm system, with three teams in first place and three more in second place. Iowa slid to a half game back without stars Javier Baez and Kris Bryant, who were at the Futures Game. Tennessee used the muscle of Jorge Soler to retain their claim on first, while Daytona received homers from Billy McKinney and Chadd Krist to remain tied for first. Kane County continued to steamroll their way through the Midwest league thanks to Jeimer Candelario. … [Read more...]

As the saying goes “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.” There was plenty of movement in minor leagues to end the week, as there was the usual roster shuffling along with a big trade. Tennessee said hello to new prospect INF Addison Russell and welcomed back to OF Jorge Soler. Outfielder Billy McKinney met some new teammates in Daytona, while Chris Rusin and possibly more are leaving Iowa for the big leagues.
Kris Bryant and Javier Baez continued hitting longballs and went yard in … [Read more...]

First place remains in the grasp in four of the Cubs’ eight minor league teams. It all started at the top as Iowa took four straight from Omaha thanks to the efforts of Kris Bryant, Manny Ramirez, Josh Vitters, and Brett Jackson. Tennessee received excellent pitching from Corey Black and Pierce Johnson with support from a resurgent Elliot Soto, Jae-Hoon Ha, and newcomer Kevin Brown.
Daytona stumbled out of first despite the continued efforts of Albert Almora. Kane County maintained first … [Read more...]

First place Tennessee won three out of four thanks to the outstanding pitching of Corey Black and Dae-Eun Rhee. Not to be outdone, second place Iowa took three out of five with the streaking Kris Bryant, Arismendy Alcantara, and Josh Vitters. Meanwhile, a Boise blowout on Friday night gave hope to better days ahead for the Hawks.
All of this, and much, much more, is inside today’s Down on the Farm Report. … [Read more...]

Winning seems to be the key word across the minor leagues to start the week as Iowa received excellent pitching performances from Dallas Beeler and Tsuyoshi Wada, while Kris Bryant provided the muscle. Tennessee evened their season record thanks to the hot hitting of Stephen Bruno, Rubi Silva, and Christian Villanueva. Daytona moved into first place with the bats of Albert Almora and Dan Vogelbach coming to life. Meanwhile, Kane County keeps chugging along thanks to Jacob Hannemann and Kyle … [Read more...]

It was all about the First Round Draft Picks as the week ended and the second half began for most of the minor league teams. The Kyle Schwarber-less Boise Hawks have struggled mightily since his promotion, while his new team, the Kane County Cougars, won three out of four as Schwarber hit his first Low-A home run. Last year’s number one pick Kris Bryant has scuffled in a few games but has belted three homers since his promotion. Meanwhile, teammates Javier Baez (2011 first round) had a four RBI … [Read more...]